The beverage of the
Laplanders is milk and water, broths, and fish-soups; brandy, of which
they are extremely fond, is a great rarity, and a glass of it will warm
their hearts towards the weary sojourner, who, but for the precious
gift, might ask hospitality at their huts in vain. The diet of the
_Samoides_, resembles that of the Laplanders, save that they devour raw
the flesh of fish and reindeer. For this people, all animals taken in
the chase, and even those found dead, afford food, with the exception of
dogs, cats, ermines, and squirrels. They have no regular time for meals,
but the members of a family help themselves when they please from the
boiler which always hangs over the fire. It is scarcely possible to name
the variety of diet to be found among the Russian tribes; but even in
cities, and at the tables of the opulent and civilized, late accounts
mention the appearance of several strange and disgusting dishes,
compounded of pastry, grain, pulse, vinegar, honey, fish, flesh, fruits,
&c., not at all creditable to Russian gastronomic science. The diet of
the _Polish_ peasantry is meagre in the extreme; they seldom taste
animal food, and both sexes swallow a prodigious quantity of _schnaps_,
an ardent spirit resembling whiskey. The _Dutch_ of all ranks are fond
of butter, and seldom is a journey taken without a butter-box in the
pocket. The boors feed on roots, pulse, herbs, sour milk, and
water-souchie, a kind of fish-broth.
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